Officials claim accidents behind arms cache explosions

Two massive arms dump explosions in Pakistan and Turkmenistan were caused by accident, the authorities have said.

Pakistani Army soldiers secure the scene of explosions at military ammunition depotPhoto: EPA

by Our Foreign Staff

12:05PM BST 11 Jul 2011

An explosion at a Pakistani army weapons depot on Monday was an accident likely caused by faulty electrical wiring and not a militant attack, a military official said.

The weapons depot at Sihala, on the outskirts of Islamabad, is near a police academy which had been attacked by militants in the past. Monday's blast injured three people.

"It was not a terrorist act. It was an accident," the military official said.

Militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban have stepped up suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan to avenge the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy SEALs in May.

At least three policemen and two civilians were killed in a suicide bombing in the northwestern town of Battagram, police said. The blast occurred shortly before an regional official was due to speak at a public park. Meanwhile Turkmenistan's eccentric president finally admitted on Sunday an arms dump, rather than fireworks, were to blame for the huge explosions near the capital Ashgabat on Thursday night, saying that a dozen people were killed.